The Four Foundations of Mindfulness: The Satipatthana Sutta.

DJ Sol Rising @ Ecstatic Dance LA Feb 2016

2019-03/08  IMSRC Establishing Presence: Insight Meditation Retreat http://www.dharma.org

2019-03/10  Turning Towards The Body

2019-03/10  Hindrances

When we meditate, we are cultivating and balancing five spiritual faculties (indriya)- awareness (sati), steadiness or stability of mind (samadhi), wise/right effort/energy (viriya), faith and confidence (saddha) and wisdom (panna).  

"I concentrate the mind the way you train a good horse" - Patacara. What is the middle way between controlling our meditation experience and not making any effort at all? Trudy uses Patacara's enlightenment poem as the basis for her discussion of the amount and type of effort needed in concentration practice. From an InsightLA Montecito Retreat.

Montecito - 2005

01/01/15 - 10 min. Train the Mind Like A Good Horse with Trudy Goodman (Excerpt, Retreat Talk)

6/3/2019 - Guest Instructor/Dharma Teacher Dave Smith on "Spiritual Bypass and the War on Emotion." Spiritual Bypass refers to those times when we fall into the trap of misusing our practice to consciously or unconsciously repress or avoid emotional experiences we don’t want to face: anger, sadness, fear, or feeling overwhelmed. During this evening talk, Dave will discuss how our mindfulness practice can be used to understand and heal our emotional suffering. 

Dave Smith is an internationally recognized Buddhist meditation teacher, addiction treatment specialist, and published author. His teaching is rooted in the Insight Meditation tradition. Dave resides in Paonia, Colorado, and leads residential retreats and classes nationwide, and serves as the full-time Head-of-Practice for Mindful Schools. — with Dave Smith at InsightLA.

2019-06/03 Dave Smith on The War On Emotions: Guided Metta-Vipassana Practice & Dharma Talk

6/2/2019 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM.  Dave Smith on Citta.

"Thoughts Are Not the Enemy: Understanding and Developing Wholesome Citta." 

The development of wholesome citta (heart-mind) is an essential aspect of the awakening process. Commonly referred to as mindfulness of mind, or thoughts, the Buddha devoted his entire discussion of the third foundation of mindfulness to learning how to recognize the presence or absence of greed, hatred and delusion, as pointing the way to embodying a heart-mind of wisdom, kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. Dave will outline the practical "nuts and bolts" of how this teaching can be understood and developed, both on and off the cushion.  

Dave Smith is an internationally recognized Buddhist meditation teacher, addiction treatment specialist, and published author. His background is rooted in the Insight Meditation tradition. Dave teaches residential meditation retreats and classes and works with students through his meditation mentoring program. Dave lives in Paonia, CO.

Dave Smith will teach at InsightLA's Santa Monica Center at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, September 10, 2009. From September 24-29, Dave will also lead a retreat on Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB) in Santa Cruz. For details see: www.davesmithdharma.com/audio/schedule/

Guided Meditation and Dharma Talk given at InsightLA East Hollywood
4300 Melrose Avenue, LA, CA 90029.

6/2/19 Dave Smith, Thoughts Are Not The Enemy: Developing Wholesome Citta. (50 min)

InsightLA Facilitator Chris Spurrell opens this guided practice with a few words on community (sangha, in Pali), one of the three refuges of Buddhist practice:  Buddha (the example), dharma (the teachings) and sangha (the community that energies, enlivens and reinforces the Buddha's path of purification).  He then guides us to be still, select an object of awareness and "widen the lens" to a global awareness of the sensations that arise in the body, and from there to follow the subtlest of sensations as they rise and fall away, and beyond, to the presence of others in the room.  He concludes with a few comments about working with thoughts and emotions when they arise in practice, and a dedication of merit.

00:00:00:00 program starts
00:00:23:00 comments on sangha.
00:01:50:77 first bell, guided meditation starts.
00:35:12:00 closing bells, comments on thoughts and emotions.
00:37:55:00 dedication of merit.
00:39:40:00 program ends.

Chris is a recent graduate of the Insight LA Mindfulness Facilitator Training.  Chris came to practice in San Francisco, sitting regularly and taking retreats at Spirit Rock and with the San Francisco Insight Sangha led by Eugene Cash.  Chris moved to LA in 2013 where has a gallery and photo studio at the Brewery Artist Lofts.  He also works in the corporate world as a management consultant.  His practice encompasses an ongoing study of the suttas as well as embracing secular mindfulness. 
Chris teaches at InsightLA, Silverlake Meditation and teaches mindfulness in the California prison system.  

For Chris, practice is a call to see things as they really are; including that which stands in the way of being completely present for others.

Guided Meditation: InsightLA Facilitators

(42 min) Chris Spurrell:  Global Awareness of the Body Guided Meditation

InsightLA offers the highest quality training in mindfulness practices available in the Greater Los Angeles area.  For 16 years, we have offered classes, retreats, and special events, and an open and welcoming community of practitioners.  Though our work is rooted in ancient traditions, we offer classes in both  secular mindfulness as well as the Buddhist Insight Tradition.  All of our efforts are dedicated toward our mission of calming minds, opening hearts, and changing the world.

(42 min) Chris Spurrell: Global Awareness of the Body Guided Meditation

InsightLA

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